1. Field
Aspects of one or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a photoelectric conversion device.
2. Description of Related Art
Extensive research has been conducted on photoelectric conversion devices that convert light into electric energy. From among such devices, solar cells have attracted much attention as alternative energy sources to fossil fuels.
Wafer-based crystalline silicon solar cells each using a P-N semiconductor junction are in relatively wide use. However, the manufacturing cost of wafer-based crystalline silicon solar cells is high because they are formed of a high purity semiconductor material.
Unlike silicon solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells include a photosensitive dye that receives visible light and generates excited electrons, a semiconductor material that receives the excited electrons, and an electrolyte that reacts with electrons returning from an external circuit. Since dye-sensitized solar cells have much higher photoelectric conversion efficiency than other general solar cells, the dye-sensitized solar cells are being considered as the next generation solar cells.